Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad

This Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad is a perfect idea for an easy summer lunch salad for anyone who enjoys garbanzo beans! Or switch out the beans for a low-carb protein option if you prefer.

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For people with vegetable gardens, we’re approaching the time of year when nearly every meal needs to include some kind of salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, right?  Of course, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Feta are a classic Greek Salad combination, but what makes this Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad so memorable besides the addition of Feta is the technique of marinating the garbanzo beans.

And the generous use of fresh herbs adds so much flavor to this salad. This is an easy salad that could be switched up in a variety of ways, and the addition of garbanzo beans could bump this up to a main-dish salad, or see tips for making a version that’s lower in carbs.  I think this would be tasty for a light dinner during the summer; hope you will try it.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• canned garbanzo beans
• white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link)
• extra virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or another all-purpose seasoning blend
• diced tomatoes
• diced cucumbers
• chopped fresh basil, parsley, or oregano
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• crumbled Feta

What balsamic vinegar did I use?

If you’re making this cucumber and tomato salad with the beans, please don’t skip the step of marinating the garbanzos in balsamic vinegar for that extra flavor boost. I’ve made this plenty of times with regular balsamic vinegar, but when I made it to update the photos I used white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link), which kept the light color of the beans. If you have white balsamic vinegar I’d definitely use it for a prettier salad, but this is just as tasty with regular balsamic vinegar!

What herbs will work for the Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad?

When I made this to take new photos I had some of those big basil plants from Trader Joe’s sitting in my window, so I opted for fresh basil this time. But fresh oregano, fresh basil or fresh parsley would all be great here, so use what you have.

How to make Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad lower in carbs: 

You could replace the garbanzos with a lower-carb protein option like diced chicken, canned tuna, shrimp, or cooked sausage if you want a low-carb option for this recipe.

How to make Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Canned garbanzo beans need to be rinsed well with cold water (until no more foam appears) and then drained in a colander for at least 15 minutes. 
2. While beans drain, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or another seasoning of your choice. It’s important to use good quality extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar here since there’s not a lot of other seasoning in the salad.
3. When beans are well drained, place them in a in small Ziploc bag, add the marinade mixture, and let beans marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours (or longer.) 
4. When you’re ready for chopping the tomatoes and cucumbers, let the marinated garbanzo beans drain, saving the reserved dressing. Taste the dressing for seasoning, adding more vinegar and olive oil if you don’t have at least 3 T of dressing. (We added 2 T more olive oil and 1 T more vinegar, but you might want less dressing.)
5. This is a recipe where it’s important to have fresh, flavorful tomatoes and fresh small cucumbers. I use equal parts tomatoes and cucumbers, but you can vary the proportions depending on what you have. If you use larger tomatoes that are extra juicy, I’d drain tomatoes in a colander for a few minutes.
6. I used my favorite herb scissors to cut the basil into nice thin strips. Put tomatoes and cucumbers into a bowl and mix in drained garbanzos, chopped basil (or other herbs), and reserved dressing.
7. Then season the salad with salt and pepper, add Feta and toss salad to gently mix.
8. Serve the salad right away, with a little more Feta to add at the table if desired.

Make it a Meal:

This Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad would be a great main dish salad, or could be served as a side dish with something like Very Greek Grilled Chicken or Kalyn’s Souvlaki.

More Salads with Cucumbers and Tomatoes:

• Tomato, Cucumber, and Radish Salad
• Middle Eastern Tomato Salad
• Tomato Salad with Cucumber, Avocado, and Cilantro 

Want More Summer Tomato Salads?

Check out 20 Summer Tomato Salads for more amazing salad ideas for summer tomatoes!

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Yield: 6 servings

Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

If you like salads with beans this Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad is a perfect summer lunch! Creamy Feta cheese and fresh herbs add flavor, and you can replace the chickpeas with chicken, tuna, shrimp, or sausage if you want a version with fewer carbs.

Ingredients

• one 15.5 oz. can garbanzo beans
• 2 T balsamic vinegar (see notes)
• 3 T good quality extra virgin olive oil (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (see notes)
• 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (drained in colander if the tomatoes are extra juicy)
• 1 1/2 cups diced cucumbers with skin on
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, parsley, or oregano
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta, plus more to add at the table if desired

Instructions

1. Put garbanzo beans in colander and rinse very well until no more foam appears. (I like to remove any chickpea skins that come off when you’re rinsing the beans but that's totally optional.)
2. Let beans drain at least 15 minutes. (I sometimes pat them dry with a paper towel if I’m in a hurry and they seem quite wet.)
3. Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) with a whisk.
4. Place beans in small Ziploc bag, pour dressing over and marinate beans in refrigerator 4-6 hours or longer.
5. When you’re ready to prepare the salad, remove beans from refrigerator and drain them in a colander, reserving the dressing.
6. Taste dressing for seasoning, and if you don’t think you have enough dressing, add a bit more balsamic vinegar and olive oil. (We added 2 T more olive oil and 1 T more balsamic vinegar, but you might want less dressing; decide how wet you prefer your salads.)
7. Dice tomatoes and if they’re extra juicy, put in colander to drain while you prepare other ingredients.
8. Cut cucumbers into fourths lengthwise, and then into pieces about 1/2 inch wide. (If cucumbers seem wet, pat dry with paper towel.)
9. Put basil or other herbs into salad spinner and wash, spin dry or dry with paper towels, and cut with herb scissors or coarsely chop using a chef’s knife.
10. Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans and basil in a bowl and toss with reserved salad dressing.
11. Season salad with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, then gently mix in the crumbled Feta.
12. Serve right away, with more Feta to add at the table if desired.

Notes

I used white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link) for this recipe, but any good tasting balsamic vinegar will work. I used my herb scissors (affiliate link) to get nice slivers of basil for the salad. If you don't have Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) use any all-purpose seasoning blend.

You will probably need a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar to add to the dressing when it's drained off the beans after marinating.

This recipe inspired by The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook, with lots of adaptations by Kalyn.  

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 222Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 601mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 7gSugar: 6gProtein: 8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad recipe is suitable for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, since beans are considered to be a “good” carb for South Beach. This salad might be too high in carbs for other low-carb eating plans, but you could make this lower in carbs by using more cucumbers and less beans and tomatoes or by switching out the garbanzos for a lower-carb protein like diced chicken, tuna, shrimp, or even sausage.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Salads Index to find more salad ideas! Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2006. It was updated in 2018 with better photos, and was last updated with more information in 2023.

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